To Set!

On Monday, I went to set all day long. It was in Croton on Hudson, out in the countryside.  They were filming the underworld scene. 

Below is a hard-to-see picture of the designer and assistant designer picking out outfits for background actors on the spot. 

This one girl got to be a fairy! 

There is food everywhere on set. Every meal is catered, and severs bring around snacks to camera crew. I guess they figure feeding everyone is worth the cost because it keeps people focused and happy and boosts morale. 

Below, my lunch.

This is the set of the underworld!  I have no idea what the concept is, but those neon plastic balls are like huge hamster balls that people can roll around in.  Some people did it in the water, too, because they float.

This is the author of Gods Behaving Badly, Marie Phillips.  She got to be a featured background character- a victorian lady in the underworld! Here she is in the costume truck (which is basically a gigantic camper, more like a portable building). 

Another background actor getting a lace collar sewn on last-minute. 

Two background actors- one victorian man and one WWI veteran, take pictures of each other in the underworld. 

Background actor call sheet. 

Racks of options for background actor costumes. 

The film set! Seems like a pretty nice underworld to me. 

There is the director behind his viewing screen, with me literally peering over his shoulder! 

The swim cap / turban I picked out made it into the movie!  Below is a background actress, wearing a 20s bathing suit and turban cap. 

These are all scenes from the filming. 

That is the costume truck, with Jess, Susan, and Christine. 

Boston

I went to Boston last weekend and had an absolutely disastrous time getting there. The megabus broke down near White Plains, NY and we were stranded for 2 hours. Megabus had no emergency plan in place, it seemed. Eventually, after it was dark, I got in a taxi with some girls and we drove to the Westchester airport, rented a car at Hertz, and drove to Boston. 

People with smartphones were calling other busses, taxis, friends, etc., while others decided to just order pizza to be delivered to the side of the road. One guy pulled out a huge thing of beer, and one woman started doing yoga. It was funny to see people's reactions to such a situation. Oh well, eventually I got to Boston, along with 3 strangers in a brand new rental car!

North End for some pizza on Saturday. It was lovely to be back as a sightseer, more or less. 

There was an art festival going on along the waterfront, which was fun.  I could already feel the temperature difference between Boston and New York (or maybe it was just a cold weekend)...

Some fun vendors at the festival...

After a lovely housewarming dinner party at Kathryn and Elizabeth's new apartment near Porter Square, we all went bowling at this bowling alley that looks as if it has not been renovated for a half century.

The next day, went to Renee's for brunch with friends (great banana pancakes!), and then to Marshall's to buy a suitcase and say bye to Sharon and Evan who were house shopping. Then, a little walk around Davis and an early dinner at Foundry with Amaro and Hillevi. 

A brand new secondhand shop has opened in Davis, called Found! I had to take a peek inside. Looks like upscale consignment. The space was open and clean.  I liked it, but a bit expensive. 

I had Amaro model this crazy silk Prada men's shirt. 

This is an appetizer from the Foundry: dates stuffed with goat cheese, wrapped in bacon, with mint oil drizzle. They were delicious! 

Yummy nummy roasted veggie sandwich. 

Sunday evening, I got back on a bus to New York. No problems this time!  I took Greyhound and arrived 30 mins early on the express to New York.  Coming back made me realize how much busier and urban New York feels. It's really neither positive nor negative, it can get tiring at times but is also exciting. Just noticing.

My First Assignment

Last Friday, I was sent to Early Halloween to go pick up some twenties bathing caps. Lo and behold, that meant that I actually had to pick them out!!  Below are some photos of bathing caps, none of which I actually picked. These rubber ones turned out to be from the wrong decade, but were incredible nonetheless.  Can you imagine having such intricate swim caps? 

On the right in the photo above is the photo they sent me with for inspiration. 

These are all just made of rubber! I can't believe they are in such good condition.

The one below is rubber, too! Apparently it was called a "porcupine" style. Or maybe that's just how Early Halloween labeled them. 

Here is one part of Early Halloween- bursting to the seams (no pun intended) in every aisle, full of vintage costumery. 

I ended up picking out a navy turban style hat, along with 8 others, and brought them all to the designer.  I went to set all day today...and the navy turban was filmed on a twenties-era bathing lady today!!